Issue #632
The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!
⚾ Welcome! ⚾
Yesterday’s schedule was a full slate of games (15) per usual for a Wednesday. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
LAD 12, HOU 2 - LAD SP Tyler Glasnow pitched only one inning and then exited the game with lower back pain. But six Dodgers relievers stepped up and did well, and their powerful lineup unloaded against both HOU SP Lance McCullers Jr. (2.2 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), and Jason Alexander who came in for him in the third (4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Andy Pages led the attack, going 3-5 with 3 HR and 6 RBI. Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Dalton Rushing, and Hyeseong Kim had two hits apiece.
CIN 6, CHC 7 - The Reds scored one in the first, but then Ian Happ hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the frame. The Cubs built up a 4-2 lead through five innings, and then neither team scored from the sixth to the eighth. Spencer Steer hit a solo HR in the top of the ninth, and the Reds loaded the bases. JJ Bleday hit a single that drove in one, and then Elly De La Cruz hit a long sacrifice fly to the wall that scored two. With a 2-run lead, but their closer Emilio Pagán on the IL, the Reds brought in Graham Ashcraft. He allowed a single to Carson Kelly, and then a game-tying HR to Pete Crow-Armstrong before getting out of the inning. Cubs reliever Trent Thornton pitched a scoreless top of the tenth. Brock Burke came in for Cincinnati, got two outs, and intentionally loaded the bases to face Michael Busch with force-out options anywhere. Unfortunately for the Reds, Busch managed a walk-off walk for the win, their third straight walk-off victory.
CWS 2, LAA 8 - 22-year-old rookie LAA SP Walbert Ureña pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), while the Angels jumped on fellow 22-year-old rookie CWS SP Noah Schultz (3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K). Travis d'Arnaud hit a 3-run HR, and Zach Neto continued to heat up by going 1-2 with 2 walks, a triple, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. See also this article by Brent Maguire at MLB, as the White Sox and Angels apparently made some strange history with three bases-loaded HBPs.
TOR 0, TBR 3
MIL 6, STL 2
SDP 5, SFG 1
ATL 1, SEA 3
BOS 4, DET 0
ATH 3, PHI 6
BAL 7, MIA 4
MIN 2, WSH 15
TEX 6, NYY 1
CLE 3, KCR 1
PIT 1, ARI 0
NYM 10, COL 5
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Today’s Trivia Question
Which team this year has a winning percentage below .400 but is 8th out of all 30 teams in runs/game, 6th in HR, and 3rd in batting average, and 1st in doubles?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Dick Williams, Tom Zachary, James Loney
Currently active players who were born on May 7 include CIN Emilio Pagán, CLE Nolan Jones, TOR Yohendrick Pinango, and LAA Angel Perdomo.
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Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys
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Today’s Matchups
As is typical for a Thursday, we have only a partial slate of games (10), as several teams are traveling or otherwise have the day off. Here are two interesting matchups (see also full list):
TBR Griffin Jax vs. BOS Jake Bennett - this is Bennett's second major league start (after allowing only one run in 5 IP against the Astros on May 1st), while the Rays are riding a six-game winning streak and will go with a bullpen day
CIN Rhett Lowder vs. CHC Shota Imanaga - the Reds have lost six in a row and will have a challenge against Imanaga (2.40 ERA this year) and the Cubs who have won eight in a row
Other starters taking the mound today include TEX MacKenzie Gore, PIT Mitch Keller, KCR Seth Lugo, PHI Andrew Painter, and SDP Michael King.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, so here are three quotes from him:
"If some guys couldn't stand the heat, then they didn't belong in the major leagues. I don't know anybody who refused the World Series checks I helped them get."
On the stress of managing: "Most nights, I slept like a baby. That is, I woke up every two hours crying."
"New York is great, but the New England fans are probably the most knowledgeable and ardent fans, and not just in baseball, but all sports. But Red Sox Nation is Red Sox Nation."
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.
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